--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry…" description: "\"Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it\" — Sylvia Plath" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/sylvia-plath-149_cry_love-is-a-shadow-how-you-lie-and-cry-aft_720219.jpg" --- # Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it ![“Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/sylvia-plath-149_cry_love-is-a-shadow-how-you-lie-and-cry-aft_720219.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/sylvia-plath-149_cry_love-is-a-shadow-how-you-lie-and-cry-aft_720219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/sylvia-plath-149_cry_love-is-a-shadow-how-you-lie-and-cry-aft_720219.jpg) > “Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is fleeting and can cause deep emotional pain when it ends. **In simple terms:** Love can hurt after it ends. Key Takeaway Accept loss and seek growth. Themes love pain illusion Mood melancholic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - breakups - grief counseling - self‑reflection Key Concepts attachment shadow metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How do you heal after love ends? - What can you learn from the pain? A Different Perspective Love may also inspire personal growth, not just sorrow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Love Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-shadow-1355122/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Shadow Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow-lie-1355123/) ## Related quotes > [“Is it the sea you hear in me? Its dissatisfactions? Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness? Love is a shadow. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/is-it-the-sea-you-hear-in-me-its-dissatisfactions-or-the-voice-of-2/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it --from "Elm", written 19 April 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/love-is-a-shadow-how-you-lie-and-cry-after-it-from-elm-written-19/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Is it the sea you hear in me? Its dissatisfactions? Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness? Love is a shadow. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/is-it-the-sea-you-hear-in-me-its-dissatisfactions-or-the-voice-of-3/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I’d waited for this opportunity with Claudia for a long time—ever since elementary school when I tried to impress her on the monkey bars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-mckenna-link/i-d-waited-for-this-opportunity-with-claudia-for-a-long-time-ever/) [Suzanne McKenna Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-mckenna-link/) > [I love you between shadow and soul. I love you as the plant that hasn't bloomed yet, and carries hidden within itself the light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-love-you-between-shadow-and-soul-i-love-you-as-the-plant-that-hasn/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Sometimes you grow to love the shadow that follows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/sometimes-you-grow-to-love-the-shadow-that-follows/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [I love 'Shadow' the most! The melody is awesome, and I really like how the lyrics express genuine emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahyun/i-love-shadow-the-most-the-melody-is-awesome-and-i-really-like-how/) [Dahyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahyun/) > [Life without love is a shadow of things that might be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/life-without-love-is-a-shadow-of-things-that-might-be/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [My sweet angel no matter what I will always love you and I always be your shadow knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sweet-angel-no-matter-what-i-will-always-love-you-and-i-always-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lines By A Lover: I Love My Shadow A Lot.. Bcoz, At Least It Was With Me When I Was Left Lonely, By The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/lines-by-a-lover-i-love-my-shadow-a-lot-bcoz-at-least-it-was-with-me/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Close your eyes and see me, I say, tugging and shredding at your heart as I grin. I am the shadow over your shoulder.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-dark/close-your-eyes-and-see-me-i-say-tugging-and-shredding-at-your-heart/) [A.A. Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-dark/) > [We made mad love shadow love random love and abandoned love. Accidentally like a martyr. The hurt gets worse, and the heart gets harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-zevon/we-made-mad-love-shadow-love-random-love-and-abandoned-love/) [Warren Zevon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-zevon/) > [“...drawn to the cities where you'd hear a voice kissing and talking deep love in every shadow of the ditch, and you passing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-synge/drawn-to-the-cities-where-you-d-hear-a-voice-kissing-and-talking-deep/) [J.M. Synge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-synge/) > [As a band gets more successful, there's a danger of falling in love with your own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-dessner/as-a-band-gets-more-successful-there-s-a-danger-of-falling-in-love/) [Bryce Dessner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-dessner/) > [“...love's shadow is jealousy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-constantine/love-s-shadow-is-jealousy/) [Storm Constantine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-constantine/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Cry quotes > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. 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And these images and these sounds are always with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/and-then-theres-always-the-crying-and-the-weeping-that-we-hear/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [My idea for 'BoneMan's Daughters' came from the loss of my own daughter when she left home to live with a monster at age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/my-idea-for-boneman-s-daughters-came-from-the-loss-of-my-own-daughter/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [I knew Jimmy Dean. He tested for 'Battle Cry'. Paul Newman tested for 'Battle Cry'. I did nine tests to finally get that role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/i-knew-jimmy-dean-he-tested-for-battle-cry-paul-newman-tested-for/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) > [I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood and was raised by a man who did not emote, ever... I always cry at movies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-grew-up-in-a-blue-collar-neighborhood-and-was-raised-by-a-man-who/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [I cry at the end of every book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/i-cry-at-the-end-of-every-book/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [ The most important thing I learned \[...\] was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-extence/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-was-that-when-a-person-dies-he/) [Gavin Extence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-extence/) > [I would have done anything for him. Maybe that was my sickness. We made love in nothing places and turned the lights off. 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